"File or directory corrupted and unreadable"?(USB)

[97tbird]

I have a folder on my USB drive, which would not open when I double click on it. when I double-click on it, I get a window which says "cannot open-file or directory is corrupted and unreadable".
It's not any important folder, so I tried to right click and delete it, but I get the message: "cannot delete-file or directory is corrupted and unreadable"

all other folders on the USB drive work/behave fine.

anybody know what to do? I'd just like to remove this "corrupted" folder from the USB drive.
-Thanks.

 

[Virtuoso]

Haven't ran into this problem for a long time, but have you tried to chkdsk the drive?

 

[97tbird]

thanks...how do you run that on win xp pro?

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Code:

---

chkdsk /?

Checks a disk and displays a status report.





CHKDSK [volume[[path]filename]]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/I] [/C] [/L[:size]]





volume Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon),

mount point, or volume name.

filename FAT/FAT32 only: Specifies the files to check for fragmentation

.

/F Fixes errors on the disk.

/V On FAT/FAT32: Displays the full path and name of every file

on the disk.

On NTFS: Displays cleanup messages if any.

/R Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information

(implies /F).

/L:size NTFS only: Changes the log file size to the specified number

of kilobytes. If size is not specified, displays current

size.

/X Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary.

All opened handles to the volume would then be invalid

(implies /F).

/I NTFS only: Performs a less vigorous check of index entries.

/C NTFS only: Skips checking of cycles within the folder

structure.



The /I or /C switch reduces the amount of time required to run Chkdsk by

skipping certain checks of the volume.

---

Assuming your USB drive is drive J: (replace with your drive letter
chkdsk J: /f /x
dismount the volume if necessary.

 

[Doc8404]

and if it's a Sandisk titanium drive, get rid of it....

 

[97tbird]

thanks guys;
is this chkdsk the same thing as right clicking on the disk in my comp-->properties-->tools-->error checking?

just wondering...

and no, it's not a Sandisk; it's an OCZ rally 2GB.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Time to replace your USB drive. I kept thinking it was an external hard disk. But those USB drives will go bad. I've seen a few of them bite the dust. We've switched to those Rally's as our defacto standard. Is the item under warranty?

Best thing to to is copy any & all data you can and buy another one.

 

[kc8adu]

copy stuff you need somewhere else and format it.
copy back.
you probably corrupted it by pulling it out during a write.

 

[LarryD]

Quote:

---

thanks guys;
is this chkdsk the same thing as right clicking on the disk in my comp-->properties-->tools-->error checking?

just wondering...

and no, it's not a Sandisk; it's an OCZ rally 2GB.

---

Yes, it is the same thing. Be sure to check the box "automatically fix file errors". Chkdsk will run the next time you boot the computer.

 

[Virtuoso]

Chkdsk finds errors that Windows' standard error checking either dosen't tell me about, or never finds.

You can run it from a command prompt (Start Menu -> Run -> "cmd"

 

[SrDriver]

Copy the folders - files you need into a temp folder on your hard drive then reformat the USB Drive.

When you use a USB Drive, you will see an icon appear in the task bar. Use it to shut down the drive before you remove it and you will not cause problems of corrupting the removable drive if something is attempting a write to it.

There is some free recovery software that can help you recover data depending on what it is. See the following URL.

Recovery Software

 

[97tbird]

Thanks for the tip and the link, Sr Driver.
I never removed the usb stick without stopping it first, so that can't be the reason for this.
I will try that software, and update here about results. (never had enough time to reformat the usb drive)